How To Optimize For Growth With Growth Strategist Amy Birks

Tim Melanson: Hello and welcome to today’s episode of the Work at Home Rockstar podcast.

Excited for today’s guest. She’s a business growth strategist and coach, and she helps purposeful brands and founders to scale impact revenue without sacrificing the things they really, that really matter, like time freedom and fun. Very excited to be rocking out today with Amy Burkes. Hey Amy, are you ready to rock?

Amy Birks: 100%. Ready to rock, Tim.

Tim Melanson: Awesome, awesome. So we always start off here in a good note. So tell me a story of success that we can be inspired by.

Amy Birks: Oh, I love that you asked this question. By the way. I’ve been binging your podcast and listening to all your great interviews, and it’s been so fun listening to other people’s stories to success.

So, um, I just love that you start with positivity. So for me, lately, I think the most awesome success story has actually been for one of my clients. Um, he came to me, he’s got a full service video production company. He does amazing, amazing work to help, to help nonprofits and. Purposeful brands to tell their stories of impact better so that they can generate more revenue and um, and just really do better work in the world or more of it.

And so, um, he came to me and was in this place where he was feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of work that he had to do. Just like there were so many tasks and he couldn’t really figure out, and not only so many tasks, but also so many ideas. And he’s got a team to support and he’s got a. A kid at home and a family that he’s trying to support.

And in addition to that, he has a business partner who he wants to bring back on who had, um, had to step away from the business for a while. And so what was really, really important to this client of mine was that he creates some sustainability and predictability in his revenue because he’d been kind of riding the, you know, the revenue rollercoaster like so many of us do as entre.

And so when Jason came to me, he was in that place, like a little overwhelmed and feeling a little scattered and really needed some opportunities to focus. And over the last six months, um, we set a target for him to, to try to double his revenue. That was gonna be like our, you know, if we had a good, better, best goal that was gonna be like the best, if we could get him to double his revenue by like, you know, a year from when we started then that was gonna be great.

Because then he might be able to bring his partner back on and he could feel a little bit more stable. And so what’s so awesome is that a few weeks ago, so not even, you know, six months after we’ve started, he’s doubled his revenue. We’re on our way to tripling it by the end of the year. He’s released tons and tons of work that doesn’t really fulfill him.

He’s focused on the things that actually matter. He’s got a much more clear, specific trajectory to how we’re gonna do, uh, even quadruple what they did this year, next year. And his partner is, is on his way to coming back on board. And so it’s very, very, very, very cool to get to celebrate ones like that with my clients.

And I love when, um, yeah, like success. Success like that is my favorite.

Tim Melanson: Success of any kind is my favorite kind. , that’s awesome. What a great story. But now I, you know, I like to kind of balance that a little bit because not everything goes as planned and sometimes things, uh, sometimes you do hit a bad note.

So I’m wondering, you know, along your journey, is there something that didn’t go as planned and some way we can get out of. Nope.

Amy Birks: Um, I’ve had the absolute perfect journey. Nothing has ever gone wrong. It’s been like a hundred percent. I just like pick all the right paths and walk them and it’s been super, super easy from day one for nine and a half years

And then you wouldn’t learn anything or not right? Exactly. or not? Um, yeah, I mean certainly like I’ve, like I said, I’ve been doing this for nine and a half years for myself, and I think that, like you said, There’s something really, really awesome about the bad notes when we hit them and, and what else is possible.

We get to learn, we get to grow, and so there have been plenty of those opportunities for me, I say all the time that actually the three things in my life that are the most amazing personal development path paths for me are being a mother. Dating and having my business, I just learned so much about myself every time I venture forth into something new, within my business, within my, my, you know, journey as a parent and, and then dating lots of jokers.

And so, you know, learning is great And, um, and so recently, I think, you know, in the last five years or so, I went through, um, I went through a divorce and it was really, really traumatic. And you know, as I said, I have a daughter, she’s seven now, but she was two and a half when it was. Starting to unwind. And I had my business, right, and I was like the, the primary earner for our family as well at the time.

But you know, we had two incomes in the household. And so as the divorce started to unfold, it was really awful. I mean, like really ugly, really traumatic. And I think that, you know, we like we’re humans in this entrepreneurial journey. And so stuff like this happens, like we. You know, bad notes, we hit bad patches.

And so for me it was my divorce and um, and it created the opportunity for me to actually like, be in this position where I thought the business was gonna go under. I was actually really certain that the business was gonna go under and I didn’t know what to do about it. I was in this place where, you know, it, I could not, for the life of me do the activities that I would normally do to generate revenue because talking to people or.

You know, trying to have those conversations that would lead to new client relationships was just too hard. Like, I was so worried. I was so afraid of what was gonna happen next as the, as the bank balance kept dwindling lower and lower and lower, and the credit card limit kept getting racked up to the, you know, to the top most point, like every day became more and more and more of a panic, and so, I, I came to a point where I knew that I had to somehow trust and surrender, but like, o f, the rent also has to be paid like three days from now.

And what am I gonna do about that? And so, um, I ki I had some sort of a, of like a profound spiritual awakening along that, along that journey. And got to a point where I realized that, gosh, if I could, you know, like there are a couple things that I really was so afraid of happening throughout that. And one was losing my business and having to get a job and the other was, uh, losing my house.

And if either one of those things happened, I was like, I can’t, like if that’s gonna happen, I’m, I’m probably, I’m gonna die. Like, that’s what it felt like. I, I could die if either of those things happen. And so the fear was really paralyzing and made it impossible for me to really grow because I was, every conversation I was having was like, this person better become a client or I might die.

I might actually die. And, um, and so once I, I was able to like kind of soften to those fears and say like, well, okay, I mean, like it would suck if the business went under and it would suck if I had to like go move in with my aunt or something like that. I wouldn’t really wanna do that, but, But I’m not gonna die.

I could accept that that might be a possibility. And something about creating that room for acceptance allowed me to then start to see some alternatives. There just wasn’t any space to see any of that. When I was in the terror of, oh good Lord, the rent has to get paid and how am I gonna do it? And um, and so what was amazing is that it created the opportunity for me to create some space around the potential.

And then that allowed me to see that, oh my gosh, My business needs to be so much simpler than it is right now. I have way too much complexity. I’m doing way too many things. I have way too many offers. I have too many activities, and this thing absolutely has to become lean and mean and start to work twice as hard so that I can work half as much.

Because now my new reality is that my daughter is only gonna be with me for half of her life. And so once. Realization hit that like, wow, my kid is only gonna be with me for half her life. Every moment is gonna count. Um, everything changed. And the, and you know, they say necessity breeds invention. And, and I really, I, I revamped the whole business model and haven’t really deviated much from it in the last four years because it’s so critically important to me that I be there for her in the moments when she’s with me.

And now I work about. I don’t know, 12 to 15 hours a week. I’ve got a six figure business and it supports us and doesn’t require me to be the foundation for the business. The business has become, become the foundation for our life.

Tim Melanson: Wow. Wow. That’s a powerful story. . And, and I feel it too cuz I, I actually went through a divorce, uh, 15 years ago and, um, maybe, yeah, about 15 years ago.

And, uh, not long after that, I actually got laid off my job as well. I was working as a. Now, mind you, uh, I, I, uh, I’m a, I’m a very, very overconfident person, and so I did not worry too much about any either of those things. . I, but I, but I will say that the, uh, uh, the experience of having 50 50 with an x and.

Uh, recognizing that every moment does count. That was a huge, huge push forward for me as well, to, to number one, to start a business and be self-employed, cuz I wanted to have more control over that and I wanted to be able to go to his events and all that and all that stuff as well. And I, yeah, I mean, I, I do think that, that, you know, knowing that half your time you’re not gonna, like, I find that you really do appreciate the time that you are with your child when you have that 50 50 thing going on.

So, um, yeah, it was a huge inspiration for me too. So you, I’m glad to hear that it worked out well for you. Cuz it, it, I, I, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was scary at times, but it, you know, I just, Brushed it off and went, no, no, no. It needs to work. Right?

Amy Birks: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think, and I think that it’s, that it’s also sometimes different for men than it is for women, right?

Like you as a man, you have an expectation that you’re just gonna have it all, all together. You got your, you got your S H I T together, and you’re just gonna keep doing the thing, and you gotta show up and keep doing the thing, right? And so, you know, for, I think for women too, we’re like, I mean, like it’s my job to to be the mother, to be the nurturer and to be available a hundred percent for this kid, and now I only get her 50%.

Like, whoa. Oh my goodness. It was really a reckoning moment in my life. And, and, and it’s been amazing too because not only has it created the opportunity for me, Like you said, right. I think you made a great point about appreciation. I appreciate every moment that I have with her and certainly right.

She’s said in there are times where I’m like, you are driving me crazy child. Yeah. But for the most part, she is just like I, I look at families that are together all the time and as much as I would love, love to have her with me all the time, I also know that I have a much deeper appreciation for her and for what makes her so magical and awesome.

Then I would, if she would, if we were together all the time. And, um, and it’s also created this amazing opportunity for me, like through simplification of my own business model to be able to bring that to my clients. Like the one, you know, Jason, who I was talking about earlier, right? The reason that we, he’s been able to now will, will have tripled his revenue by the end of the year, is because we stripped away all the things that don’t matter.

You know, P’S got a family, he wants to be able to be with them. He’s got a team that supports them and, you know, being able to find the right things that help his team develop and to delegate things to them that aren’t the most, uh, highest value tasks for Jason to be focused on as the CEO and founder, right?

Like all of that was born from my ability to say, well, j i, I gotta figure this out. Like, I just can’t, I can’t not, I’m not gonna, like, I’m not gonna die. I’m not gonna let my my family not be supported. I’m gonna, I just have to figure this out.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I, you know, I think if I, it’s funny cuz I mean, if I were to like even give someone who’s in a relationship that they’re still together and they have kids, I would definitely recommend having some sort of 50 50 custody thing going on.

Even in, even in a relationship with the parents still together because Yeah, I mean, having your time off was huge too. , you know, I was able to catch up on all this stuff. I was able to have a social life and you know, I think that, uh, I think you’re right. I think it is a lot harder for women cuz I think that they are sort of like program that no, you’re supposed to be in the child’s life all the time.

You should not have your own time. A hundred percent. Yeah. So it would’ve been harder, uh, you know, probably would’ve had a lot more guilt about spending some time on your. But I imagine that it probably ended up working cause you were able to separate that a little bit, right?

Amy Birks: Yeah. I mean, it’s amazing. I still like, I that the word guilt, right?

I think that’s a really big thing. And, and you know, I’m sure that you feel some measure of that, right? If you’re out on your, you know, on your own time when your kid is with his mom, right? Being able to do, do the things that you wanna do and have a life and, and there are times where I know for me as a woman that guilt.

Is crushing at times to be able to say like, is it okay that I’m enjoying the fact that I get to pop away for a weekend to Atlanta and like hang out with a dude? Is that okay? That I’m really happy about that I still miss my child at the same time. I miss her terribly and I would, again, I would, I wish that we were together all the time.

I wish that, but I agree with you. I, you know, I keep reading. Like I, you know, I spend a lot of time, uh, looking at, you know, intentional parenting resources and things like that. And, and so often I see this where they talk about that idea. You know, especially if you have, you know, more than one kid, like, being really intentional about how you spend time together so that you can create those, you know, that like, we take everything for granted.

I think it’s so easy to do that when it’s right in front of our faces all the time, and, and so the guilt, the appreciation, like, I think it all goes together for.

Tim Melanson: Totally. So now what about, uh, let’s get back to business a little bit Now, when you are, uh, when you’re building a business, you need to have fans.

You need to have people that are coming to your sites. You need to be able to have people that are buying things from you. So what is your approach to generating business?

Amy Birks: Uh, I love this question. Thank you for asking. I think it’s, um, it’s really interesting because for me, when I work with my clients, it’s really about helping them find their way.

So, you know, it’s like one, the, my whole ethos is that it’s about finding leverage and it’s about aligning your tactics with your values, and especially as it relates to marketing, because I think it’s very, very easy as a business owner to look at what everybody else is doing and look at what’s trendy and to be like, oh, I have to.

Be on that platform and I have to be on that platform and I have to be on that platform and I have to do this and also this and also this and also this. And that’s how you end up in this like very, very, you know, kind of hustle culture working 60 hours a week to try to like pay the bills sort of scenario.

And I call shenanigans on that all the time. I wrote a book called The Hustle Free Business, and it’s really about this idea that it doesn’t have to be that hard and that really, if you can find the most leveraged activities, That also feel good to do and get results, then that’s like the trifecta of magic that allows you to have a business that can operate at 15 hours a week and generate six figures a year.

And so for me, that looked like simplifying my business, my offerings, right? I have one thing that I do and I offer it two ways. And again, for four and a half years I haven’t deviated. It’s only now that I’m even just starting to dabble in like considering diversifying my offering. But keeping your offering simple and then finding the, um, the channels that work best and what I tend to believe, I’m never one that’s gonna say, Follow my formula and do these steps exactly as I did them.

And you’ll have the same results because we’re all built differently. And you know, just because Gary V did it this way doesn’t mean that it’s gonna work the same for me or for you. And so, you know, but the one thing that I do always encourage my clients, To, to try and to really lean into is connection because to me, relationships, connection, it’s like the absolute shortcut to everything.

And so my business model and my marketing model has been based on what I call the three Cs and it’s, I care. I’m curious and I wanna connect, and it’s just that like I, for the, for the last four years, I just show up in the rooms where I know that my rooms like virtual, you know, online, in person, whatever, where I know my people are and I actually care about them.

And I am wildly curious about like, I care about their success and if they’re business owners, I’m like so excited. Their growth trajectory and what’s gonna happen for them next. And so because of that, I’m super curious about what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, where they’re going next, so that I can find a way to be able to provide some value, whether it’s with me and what I do, my services or with my amazing network of partners and.

Folks that are doing amazing things in the world. And so I just show up and I connect like authentically, transparently, without any transactional nature to what I do. And, and I think sometimes that’s tricky because I think that our, you know, the fear that lives inside of us when we’re like, oh, s h i t, the rent is due, you know, like, That creates the opportunity to show up in a conversation and actually not really connect and just be there in a transactional nature.

Marc Mawhinney: Yeah. Hi, it’s Mark Ney from Natural Born Coaches, and I want to give two very big thumbs up to Tim Melanson and his creative Crew agency. I have been using them for a long time and I am 100% happy they get the job done. They’re fast and they let me focus on my business. I don’t have to worry about anything.

So again, I want to give them two very big thumbs up. I have no problem recommending them. I don’t give testimonials for everyone because my name is attached to it, but I gladly do so for Tim and the Creative Crew Agency. So use them. You won’t regret it. And good

Tim Melanson: luck. Um, man. So much good stuff on. Uh, but I think you’re right.

The, the one thing that has always stayed the same is is relationships. And because you’re right, the tactics sometimes change. Like, I mean, the, the world is changing so fast that maybe something that did work five years ago is just not gonna work today. It’s just, it is what it is. Right. And I think that that’s what people can and get, uh, people get wrapped up in that stuff.

And especially considering there’s a lot of coaches out there that. Selling things that don’t work

Amy Birks: anymore, my gosh, such a thing.

Tim Melanson: It just, it is what it is. Uh, however, one of the things that always does work is, is people, is connections, is relationships. I mean, you know, your best referral sources are gonna be the people that you’ve done good work for.

So as long as you just do good work and make sure you stay in contact with people you did good work for, mm-hmm. , then you probably will be fine.

Amy Birks: A hundred percent. Yeah. And I think, and I think just having, like, there’s, there’s an interesting line that I think we can tread between because I, I always talk about, you know, making connections for the sake of making connections and building and nurturing relationships because it’s worth doing, um, and adding value, right?

Like, I think that’s something that’s really important, even if you’re not, even if you haven’t. Exchanged currency, right? Like even if you haven’t exchanged money like these days, again, like this is, this is very new, but like I’ve started creating content for social media again, and I was off social media for a couple of years and um, and I’m finding it really, really satisfying to be adding value.

Four people on social media. Again, because I know that it’s worth doing. Yes, I know that doing it is also going to eventually connect some dots that will lead to revenue for me, but I’m not doing it so that that will happen. I’m doing it because it’s worth doing. And I think that it’s tricky sometimes to actually really be in that space where you can say, yeah, I’m, I’m like, it’s, it’s worth doing.

I’m doing the thing and I’m unattached and I’m not like doing this. So that XYZ will happen.

Tim Melanson: Well in. And and doing that is, I mean, you learn through teaching and you learn through doing. So the more you do it, even if it is, you know, putting it out there on social media, the more, the better you’re gonna get at what you do.

So yeah, it definitely is worth it just because it’s, it’s practicing the fundamentals and you know, in music that’s what it’s all about, is practicing the fundamentals over and over and over and over again. A hundred percent. And that’s what, that’s what providing value out to your network does. And, and one other thing that I’ll add to that is that there’s always somebody that’s gonna be ahead of you.

There’s always gonna be someone that’s behind you. And so no matter what you put out there, I mean, I know that for myself, I, I, I think, oh, you know, I’m about to do a video. And I’m like, ah, but everybody, everybody knows that. Well, that’s not necessarily true. Not everybody knows that , there’s new someone that’s not gonna know it.

So you’re better off to just put it out there. What’s the worst that happens? Right? You have a video that nobody looks at. I.

Amy Birks: Totally, a hundred percent. I, I was so under that mistaken impression when I first started my business, and it’s been amazing, you know, how much, I think even now, like nine and a half years later, I still have those moments where like every, I’m like, everybody knows this, and then I throw something out there and there are so many people that are like, oh, this is exactly the message I needed today.

Yeah. Yeah. And the other thing I’ll say too that I think is so great for me about being back on social media is that I’m learning, that I’m learning so much about what else is possible for my business, right? Like I mentioned, diversification of my offering. So I’ve had this one way that I work with people.

You know, my, my typical clients tend to be, you know, earning six figures up to seven figures, and they’re trying to scale. And they’ve had an established business and they’re like doing the thing. They’re purposeful brands, you know, that sort of thing. And my sense was like, I’ve had this hypothesis that I could also add value for corporations, right?

Like bigger companies also have this opportunity to simplify what they’re doing to become more operationally efficient, to, you know, have more, you know, simplicity in their, like all the different things related to their customer journey. But what I didn’t expect was that in being willing to employ my three Cs, I care.

I’m curious and I wanna connect. I have met all these side hustlers, like people who are building, starting building businesses, or have been trying to build businesses who are in the same boat, who are feeling very much overwhelmed, very much like I’m doing all the things and it’s not really, I’m not really.

Profitable yet. And um, like my wife is tired of finding me on the couch three in the morning, like building the website, you know? So I think that there’s so much that we can also learn about our, our ideal clients, about the other possibilities that exist for us. And I think, by the way, that it’s so awesome, right?

Like, here I am now in this like, wow, there’s this new space. There are all these people here who need simplicity in their, in. Budding businesses so that they can build it in a way that feels more sustainable. And, and so I also love that you are building something new for that same audience because I think it’s so, like, there’s so much potential for people right now, especially who want to build businesses and have them grow.

And so the fact that you’re getting ready to, to create, or maybe by the time this airs will have something for them that’s gonna make it easier for them to do it in a sustainable way that allows them to get traction quickly to earning revenue. I just think that’s such a gift.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah, I think, I think right now we’re going through a massive change in the way that people are viewing their careers in the future.

I mean, you know, back when I was in high school, it was all about getting a job and climbing a ladder and retiring , right? I don’t think, um, I mean, that’s long gone. That was long gone when I even thought it was. But, but, uh, but still, I mean, now it’s a matter of, you know, those side, just about everybody has some sort of side hustle now.

Um, and it’s just growing. So, yeah, I, I know that there’s a lot of resources and like you say, I mean by the time this airs, uh, you know, I should have my, uh, my program in place where you can get, uh, a landing page for, uh, for starting your business. And I mean, That’s super important now that you don’t rely on the social media platforms in order to run your business because.

That’s changing as well, and you know, every day constantly. Yeah.

Amy Birks: Yeah. It’s just constantly changing. It’s totally

Tim Melanson: unpredictable. You have to own your, own your business, own your, your, your platform. Now that doesn’t mean you don’t use the social media platforms, but it’s just like, you know, relying on a specific coffee shop, for example, to do all your business.

And then what happens if that coffee shop shuts? Now you’ve got no business. You know, you’ve gotta actually get a business card, don’t you? Right, right. So that you can connect with them if that coffee shop is closed one day. Right? Yep. Exactly. Yeah. And so it’s the same thing with websites and business.

Amy Birks: Yep. Yeah, I think it’s great and I love that, that you guys are gonna make that accessible for people so that they can just get their thing off the ground in a way that, you know, allows them to get traction. Cuz I think so often when business owners are just starting out or are like side hustling and also trying to maintain their, you know, their full-time job to allow their bills to be paid.

At the same time we just get in our own way so much. We are just constantly in our own way. And, and so I love that you’re gonna make it easier for people to get out of their own way by providing this solution that allows for this very. Like very, very cool, important piece of their business, real estate to be made available to them in a way that that will make it easier for them to do it.

Tim Melanson: Totally. So let’s talk a little bit about the band, about, about the people that you have around you. Now, I, I’m sure you’re not doing this all alone now, . Yeah, not anymore. So tell me about who, like, who’s in your team and how’d you bind them?

Amy Birks: Yeah, that’s such a great question. So, so what’s interesting is that I have been mostly doing this on my own for, for a really long time, and I have had support and different, you know, different ways and means for, you know, over the years.

But for like the last three years, I haven’t really been, had any support. It’s been like it’s, my business model has been so simple that it hasn’t been required. And then I started to notice, That there are things that I have to do in my business that I really don’t enjoy doing that create resistance.

You know, I was talking about how we get in our own way, and I think that that’s a really big piece of it, is that we are humans having an entrepreneurial experience and or entrepreneurs having a human experience, really, and that because there’s this little human inside of us that is like, I don’t like doing that.

This sucks. I don’t wanna do it at all. Then it creates all these opportunities to create drag within our businesses. And so I kept seeing that I was peaking the potential of getting back on social media, of diversifying my, you know, my revenue sources of. Creating, you know, a, a bigger platform again. And I was like, gosh, I don’t wanna have to do all of this on my own.

And so, um, yeah, so I’ve recently en engaged the VA team and I found them because of my connections. Because I care and I’m curious and I connect. People all the time. And so, you know, I was connected to an amazing team, um, who I’ve got, you know, like an OBM who like is the cat herder and she’s got a whole team of people that do all the little things that I need done.

And it’s been amazing. And then in addition to that, I’ve got, um, Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant guy who, uh, he and his team helped me create some of my LinkedIn content. So we work on it together and then I don’t have to do all the heavy lifting and the content creation. And he is so, so unbelievably good at what he does.

His name is Nile Ratcliffe and they’re the Ratcliffe Brothers agency and they’re just amazing and, uh, and such fun to work with. Like they are just such great, and they’re young. Like 21 and 20 or something crazy like that. And they are brilliant at what they’re doing and it’s, and it’s really working.

It’s like super helpful. But what I also love about, you know, the, this idea of the band is like for, you know, for somebody like my client, Jason, like all my clients currently, they have team members that help them. They have their bandmates that are like, you know, on the journey with them. And what I love is when we can find the.

People to come in to help make our lives easier as founders, then we get to focus on the tasks that really matter. Like the, my friend Todd Herman talks about $10 tax tasks, $10 an hour tasks, and a thousand dollars an hour tasks. And so it’s not like we’re, I’m not paying anybody $10 an hour to go do the things that I don’t enjoy doing.

Like, A $10 an hour task for me is like, you know, repurposing my content, which is actually really valuable, but it’s not something that I want to do or am very good at. And so I’m paying somebody more like $45 an hour to do it. But like for me, that’s like, I just, I can’t be bothered. It’s gonna CREATE’s. A bunch of resistance and drag.

It’s gonna take me forever to do it. It’s not a good use of my time. A thousand dollar an hour task for me is doing something like this, like showing up and having a conversation with somebody like you, or being in the right rooms and meeting people and connecting with them and actually caring about them and helping connect dots to resources that are gonna help them grow.

You know, things like that. And so I love when I get to work with my clients where we get to look at what are the things that they’re actually doing and how can we align their activities with their values. In a way that allows them to be leveraged so that they can then take the step that doesn’t work and find the right resources to help them continue to grow without it all having to be on their shoulders.

Cuz we already carry so much responsibility on us as founders as it.

Tim Melanson: Love it. And the best thing about doing that and about assembling a band is that you get the opportunity to find people that are following their passion and their dream too. And you know, the things that you don’t like, that’s what they thrive on.

So, you know, we’re totally, we’re just, you know, putting it back into the ecosystem, right? So that yes, we can all, we can all be successful together.

Amy Birks: I love that. And I forgot to mention that I’m actually working with a branding agency as well that are helped. You know, I’ve got an amazing partner with that and she’s helping me really redesign my whole customer journey.

And that is so exciting because she loves doing it and she loves working with women just like me, who are single moms who are doing the thing. And she’s like, I can conceptualize all of this so that you don’t have to. And I’m like, Thank goodness cuz I don’t want to, my brain hurts my brain. So I love that you get to be that for your clients too.

They can come to you and say like, give me a visual identity that works. Create that landing page for me. I really need it. And I can’t, I, I have spent days and hours and months and years feeling like this is not good enough for me anymore. And now I just wanna hand it over.

Tim Melanson: Nice. So let’s talk about learning from the best.

Now, do you hire coaches yourself?

Amy Birks: Yes. I, I know, I feel like I should have mentioned them in as part of my band, because I do, I have several coaches and have had other coaches over the years too. It’s, uh, it’s, it’s, I think it’s so. Wise as a founder, to be willing to say, I am not the smartest person in the room when it comes to, you know, anything and everything.

And so I have, um, I have, oh, at the moment, three coaches that I work with, and they all provide a different level of support. You know, like one of them, one of ’em happens. To be my best friend and I’m so very lucky that I get to work with her cuz she, Kelly Sheets is just like a brilliant, brilliant leadership and personal development coach.

And what’s so awesome is that I think for people like us, right? Again, we’re founders, but we’re also humans. And because we’re like humans, we get in our own way. And so having, I think somebody in your corner that you know, can not only point out your personal blind spots, but like doing that and growing as a, as a human, as a person allows us to, to become a better leader.

To become a. CEO to become a better entrepreneur, to like be able to spot the potential and the opportunities and, and I know that my business growth has been commensurate with my willingness and ability to personally grow as well.

Tim Melanson: Totally. Yeah. And, and that’s the thing, number one, we do all have blind spots and if you don’t recognize that, well then that’s a blind spot,

A

Amy Birks: hundred percent. Totally. Yeah, totally. But

Tim Melanson: now I, I know in, in music, so for like as a, in my band, so as a front man, I always. Want to be the worst musician in my band, . I love that. And I think that that’s, that’s important. I mean, cuz I mean really when it comes down to it as a leader or in your business, your job is to provide vision.

It’s to, it’s, it’s to do all the things that are not really. The grunt work aspect of it, and those people have to be very, very good at what they do in order to support you, to be able to be confident enough to go out there and really promote your business at a high level. If you have surrounded yourself with people that.

you are constantly teaching. Mm-hmm. , then I’m not sure if you’re necessarily gonna be able to be freed to do the things that you need to do in order to really grow. Right.

Amy Birks: Totally. A hundred percent. And that has been my experience too, cuz I actually hired a different agency to help with some of my content earlier before I ended up with these two, the, the VA team and, and the other guy and Nile and, and his team for my LinkedIn stuff.

And I was like, oh man, I am, I am, this is a heavy lift. Like I really, that the, I I’m very picky because I’m a marketer and, you know, and, and a copywriter like words are, I’m very specific about it and when it, and it just, and I wanted to give it time and I’m like, I don’t have that much time that I can really spend on this.

It’s just not, yeah. I, I had to really look at it and say like, okay, am I, can we get up to speed fast enough? I don’t think so. And so, you know, I think it’s tricky sometimes to make assessments ourselves too, by the way. Like, I think one of the things that I love about what I get to do with my clients is that I sit.

At the 50,000 foot level and am also kind of like the Gemini Cricket on their shoulder. And I’m able to see the whole field of play, right? Like you mentioned it, you said this, right? Like we have the vision as a founder, we can see all the way out into the distance for where it is that we wanna go, and then we can see three feet in front of her faces and that’s about it.

And so the blind spots, the opportunities, the potholes, the potential. Like we can’t see all of that between here and there. And so it’s awesome for me that I get to be. For my clients, I get to hold the vision. I know exactly where it is we’re gonna go. I’ve got this GPS brain that’s gonna plot the way to get there, and it’s gonna be the most effective, efficient, fun, and it’s gonna create the most money possible and it’s gonna be awesome.

But I’m also gonna be able to see like, This is where we’ve got some really great potential. This is how we’re gonna stay on, focus on, on track and focus. This is, you know, where we wanna avoid this pothole right here for the things that they can’t see themselves. And, and I think that’s another really, really, um, important thing to consider as a business owner is having that kind of support so that, because you just can’t see everything when you’re that close to it

Tim Melanson: a little bit.

All right. It’s time for your guest solo. So tell me what’s exciting in your business right now.

Amy Birks: There are so many things, but you know, I think that the thing there, there are a couple things, there are a couple things I’m really excited about right now. Um, I’ve got, like I mentioned, you know, I’ve been on LinkedIn and have been learning that there’s this cool opportunity for folks who are building businesses on the side as they, as they are working, uh, their main jobs.

And so I’m seeing this really cool potential to take what I do with established business owners and apply. To side hustlers too. And so I’m developing a new program that hopefully will be, uh, ready for release. I’m, I’m guessing around the first of the year is my, my sense, maybe sooner. Um, but by the time this recording is up, I’m gonna have a landing page where people can come and get some, you know, more like sign up to get some more info about it and learn about when it’s gonna be released.

It’s, uh, so that’s gonna be exciting. It’s, I’m calling it Hustle The Hustle, free Side Hustle. It’s like a follow on to my hustle free business book. Um, yeah, just to help them really simplify what they’re doing and. Get more traction without it having to be so hard or require them to be, you know, up at midnight, like building the thing.

Um, and then the other thing that I’m excited about is, you know, my coach and, and best friend Kelly Sheets, and I have a cool thing called the Epic Experiment where we’re just having these very, very like interesting conversations about life and the things that hold us back and the things, things that allow us to be more powerful.

And, um, and so some of the content I’m creating is about some of those really interesting, fun, weird, you know, kind of like what is this human experience all about, sort of conversations and some psyched about that

Tim Melanson: too. Yeah, I like the sounds of that I about all this stuff.

Amy Birks: Yeah. So, um, if anybody’s interested in learning more about when.

A hustle free side hustle is gonna be released. You can go to amy burkes.com/side hustle and just get on the interest list for that. And if you wanna know more about the Epic experiment, you can go to amy burkes.com/epic. And if you just wanna like follow along with some of the stuff that I’m doing, I’m on LinkedIn and you can find me there.

Um, I think it’s, I think it’s whatever, linkedin.com/i n slash strategy ninja. And, uh, you can probably also find stuff about some of this on Instagram and. And Facebook because I think my team is helping to repurpose things over there, but I am not because I don’t enjoy it.

Tim Melanson: love it. I really enjoyed jamming out with you today.

This was a lot of fun.

Amy Birks: Me too, Tim. I love what you’re doing. I love how you’re creating all these opportunities for folks who wanna, you know, work from home and like do their thing and make it there. So yeah. Good on you.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Let’s get, let’s get going. Let’s reach our dreams together. ,

Amy Birks: for sure. Yes, a hundred percent.

Tim Melanson: Right on. So thank you so much for rocking out with me today and to the, to the listeners, make sure, make sure you subscribe right and comment, and we’ll see you next time on the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast.